


I'd Break the World For You

by griimdarks



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-06-07 21:30:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6825079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/griimdarks/pseuds/griimdarks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little AU where Pike never left the group, the flying carpet was never broken, and Vax’ildan was kidnapped by the Briarwoods in their first meeting</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where's Dispel Magic When You Need It?

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1 turned out to be quite small tbh! I will try and update this every few days, or weekly at most!

Vex’ahlia was running, running as fast as she could, dread filling her every movement.

The feeling came suddenly and Vex lurched, grabbing at the nearby wall to stay upright. Her head began to spin, her limbs became ice, her bow, alien and unfamiliar in her numb hands. She dragged in lungfuls of the night air as a cold hand squeezed her heart, tighter and tighter and tighter till she thought it would be crushed into dust.

“Vax?” she whispered, feeling a tear make its way down her cheek.

She took off running again, wild desperation in each step. The only person managing to keep up with her was Percy, but Percy was running with purpose, with grief and hatred in his heart. Vex forgot he was there, Vex forgot that Grog and Scanlan and Pike were there, Vex forgot that Tiberius and Keyleth had taken to the air.

Vex needed to get to that courtyard. Vex needed to get to her brother.

She practically threw herself around the last corner, coming upon the open courtyard behind the Briarwoods’ room. She saw Keyleth and Scanlan at one window, and Tiberius and Seeker Asum; she saw Percy stop short in his tracks, eyes wide with fear and horror and poisonous hatred.

She saw Delilah Briarwood, haughty and smirking, arcane energy in her hands; she saw Sylas Briarwood with an even bigger smirk, something like blood leaking from the corner of his lips.

Vax was a crumpled heap at Sylas’s feet. He lay, facedown, in the grass of the courtyard.

“Vax?” She called. It was suddenly very hard to breathe.

Vax did not respond.

“Vax?” She screamed, voice ringing out across the courtyard. Both the Briarwoods spun around to face her, as did everyone in the room above. She heard Grog skid to a halt behind her, and roar, charging ahead, fully raged.

“Vex’ahlia,” Lady Briarwood drawled, lips curving into a smirk. “So good of you to join us!”

Vex had never fired an arrow so true before. She held the bow with hands steadier than they’d ever been, and fired. She imagined the arrow sinking into Delilah’s chest, and it found its mark; Delilah hissed in pain, and Vex did not find the sound as satisfying as she thought it would be.

She wanted to hear Lady Briarwood scream.

The second arrow she fired was equally true, even if she fired it as Percy screamed at Sylas, firing a shot that took a chunk of flesh straight off Sylas’s arm. 

Scanlan began to sing from the room above, the gentle soothing melody of a Healing Word spell, and she watched the magic drift towards her brother. She heard the gasp the gasp he let out as he was jolted back to life, rolling onto his back.

Vex closed her eyes as relief flooded through her. He was alive.

The Briarwoods exchanged a look. 

“Well,” Delilah said delicately. “It’s been rather fun but I do suppose it’s time for us to take our leave, yes? Percival,” she said suddenly, turning to face him. “It’s been so long since you last visited us. You really should come by soon, and see your family.”

She saw Percy stiffen, the grip on his gun grow tighter.

“And you, Vex’ahlia,” Delilah looked her in the eyes, and Vex thought she felt her muscles clench and freeze - but it was only for a moment, and there was a spark of disappointment in Delilah’s eyes. “You really must come and visit us, perhaps with Percy! I could show you some more of my dresses - I know how much you adore them - and, ah, yes! You could visit your dear brother while you’re with us!”

Sylas bent down,a fist curling in Vax’s hair, and Vex watched as he dragged her brother upright. Vax was squirming and kicking and desperately trying to claw himself away. The way Sylas was holding onto him left his neck exposed, and Vex saw two tiny bloodied holes in his jugular.

Vex felt her blood turn to ice.

“Put him down,” she growled.

Sylas procured a knife, and held it against her brother’s throat.

“I said, put him the fuck down!”

She watched the Briarwoods grin, and immediately knew what was about to happen. 

“No, no, let him go,” Vex began to run towards them, arm stretched out to her brother. “Let him go, please, please I- Vax’lidan!”

Realisation dawned in Vax’s eyes; he reached out to her amidst his struggling.

“Vex-” 

Am then he was gone, disappeared in a cloud of magic.

Vex’ahlia began to scream.


	2. One Half of a Whole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He hated that the Briarwoods had managed to throw him off this much. They’d managed to get into his head again, from the taunts and the grins and the making off with Vax.
> 
> That part hurt, partially from the fear in Vax’s eyes, but mostly from the way Vex screamed when they disappeared. Percy put his hammer down, rubbed his eyes. The Briarwoods had stolen from him, and now the Briarwoods had stolen from Vex, and he wasn’t sure if Vex would ever forgive him for it.

Vex found she could not stop crying.

She held it back while they spoke to the guards, while Pike took her hand and gently led both her and Percy back towards Greyskull Keep, telling everyone that they’d had enough excitement for the night. Lilith the tiefling seemed sweet, but Vex did not have it in her to even attempt to be social, and she thanked the fact that Pike seemed to know that she wasn’t ok.

Percy was quiet during the walk home, worlds away from them, holding onto Pike who was physically leading him along. Vex was glad that Pike didn’t ask her how she was feeling, content to walk home in what felt like a daze. She would squeeze her hand every so often, and Trinket’s presence behind her was somewhat comforting in this lonely, lonely night.

They reached their Keep. Percy immediately excused himself and made a beeline for his workshop.

Pike turned to face her, still holding her hand. “Do you want me to make you a cup of tea, Vex?” she asked, gently.

Vex slowly pulled her hand away. “No, thank you,” she managed, and then she turned and practically ran to the stables where Trinket was. Pike gave her an understanding look as she bolted out the door.

Trinket understood, Trinket always understood. She collapsed face first onto his back and started sobbing, soft and muffled through his fur. Trinket didn’t make much noise, but alerted her when everyone else returned; she heard footsteps come towards them and managed to wipe most of the tears off, ducking and leaning against his side in an attempt to hide. She saw a shadow that could only be Keyleth start to come closer, and saw a gnomish shadow - probably Scanlan, Pike’s clothing was more form fitting and this shadow had very baggy trousers - pull her back.

Vex put a hand over her mouth, trying to muffle her sobs. After a moment’s hesitation, they left her in peace.

The more she cried, the more agitated Trinket was becoming. He’d seen her upset before, but he could sense her pain, saw Vax was gone, and probably understood that something very, very bad had happened. He kept nuzzling at her and making soft noises that she understood as an attempt at comforting her. It only made her cry more.

The tears subsided, after a while, but the emptiness in her chest lingered, the despair growing in the pit of her stomach. Vex was suddenly feeling very, very cold. She hugged herself, hunching over; Trinket made an alarmed noise and pushed his snout into her side.

“Shh, Trinket, it’s ok,” she whispered, putting a hand on his muzzle.

It was most certainly not ok.

Her face felt hot, her eyes were burning, and her head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton wool, but Vex had a moment of pure, grief-induced clarity.

She was going to go to Whitestone. And she was going to get her brother back.

But Vex wasn’t an idiot. Whitestone was far, far away and she had no idea what the town was like, where the castle was, basic information that she needed to collect before she razed Whitestone to the ground.

Vex stood up and squared her shoulders. If anyone could tell her more about Whitestone, about the Briarwoods then it had to be Percy.

“I’ll be right back, Trinket,” she said. She took a deep breath, and made her way towards his workshop.

* * *

Percy had wanted to make some things tonight - keyword, wanted. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t concentrate, and all he could see were the Briarwoods looming over Vax, just like they’d loomed over his parents’ corpses all those years ago. He ended up making ammunition instead. Ammunition was easy, it was a clockwork process, and he got to beat things with a hammer so it was win/win situation overall.

He hated that the Briarwoods had managed to throw him off this much. They’d managed to get into his head again, from the taunts and the grins and the making off with Vax.

That part hurt, partially from the fear in Vax’s eyes, but mostly from the way Vex screamed when they disappeared. Percy put his hammer down, rubbed his eyes. The Briarwoods had stolen from him, and now the Briarwoods had stolen from Vex, and he wasn’t sure if Vex would ever forgive him for it.

There was a loud knock and Percy’s head snapped up.

“Percy, it’s me,” Vex’s voice was muffled through the heavy iron door; even so, he could tell she had been crying.

Percy paused for a moment, and looked back down.

“Percy, open up.”

“I wish to be alone.” He said.

“Percival.” her voice had dropped in volume to something just slightly above a whisper. It reminded him of the low growl a predator would give, right before attacking. “Open the door.”

Percy’s hands tightened into fists. “No.”

“If you do not open this door, then I will open this door. And you will not like the way I open this door.”

Percy thought for a moment. Strength was not Vex's forte, but somehow in that moment he knew she would have no issues breaking down a steel reinforced door that Grlg could barely lift.

Percy gingerly opened the door, and made the mistake of looking at Vex’s eyes. They were molten chocolate, a sea of grief rolling and storming and churning into something more.

“Tell me what you know,” she said, in a voice devoid of any emotion.

“I don’t know-”

“Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III,” Vex punctuated each word with a step towards him, and Percy, while marvelling at the fact that she remembered his full name, couldn’t help but take a step back. He felt the cold stone of the wall behind him, and cursed the fact that his workshop was so small.

Vex kept walking, closer and closer. She laid her hands against his chest. They were close enough now that Percy could count the freckles dotting her cheeks. He made sure not to look her in the eyes again.

“Tell me everything you know.” It was not so much a request, as a demand.

He pursed his lips. “I already told you everything-”

“No, you didn’t.” She said it with such conviction that he really wondered if she knew he was lying. Percy froze, dragged his gaze back up to her eyes. Vex’s eyes were overbright, through grief or fury, he could not tell anymore.

He closed his eyes, and he felt Vex’s hands clench into fists.

“Tell me.”

“There is nothing to tell.”

“I lost my brother, Percy-”

“And I lost my entire family, Vex!” he pushed her away and Vex stumbled backwards, caught off guard by his sudden movement. “But you wouldn’t know what that’s like, would you? Seeing as you ran away from your once chance at having a family!”

He watched Vex take a step back, eyes wide with something akin to betrayal; a single tear began to make its way down her already tear stained cheek.

Percy shut his eyes, leaning against the wall, wanting the ground to just open up and swallow him whole. He opened them, and saw a fist directly in front of his nose.

The blow sent his glasses clattering to the ground. Percy instinctively brought one hand to his nose, wincing in pain, Vex towering above him, breathing heavily. Percy stumbled to his knees, what point was there in standing up, anyway? Things were slightly blurred, now that his glasses were on the floor, but when he looked up at Vex he still saw that burning anger in his eyes.

Percy moved his hand, feeling something warm run down his face. He watched the anger in Vex’s eyes turn to ashes, her hands falling limp beside her as her knees gave way.

“Oh, oh, Percy, I-” She covered her hands with her mouth, shaking.

Percy wiped the blood from his nose. “No, Vex, no it’s ok,” he said. “It’s alright.” He thought about his mistakes, the deals he made out of sheer desperation and grief. “I deserved that.”

“Percy, no,” she whispered, sounding horrified; almost like she knew he wasn’t just referring to insult about her family. She shuffled over to him, placed a hand on his shoulder. “No, don’t say that,”

“Why not? It’s true, you know,” he let out a humourless laugh. “I deserve this. I just had to drag you all into this, right? Now look. I have Vax’s blood on my hands, along with everyone else’s.”

Vex didn’t reply. Her hand brushed his cheek, and he started to feel the warmth of a Healing Word spell.

Percy pushed her hand away. “Don’t,” he said.

Vex blinked. “No, Percy, I hurt you and-”

He saw her move her hand towards his face again, and shook his head. “Please. Don’t. I don’t deserve it.”

Vex paused for a moment, and placed her hand on his cheek anyway. He moved to push her hand away again but she grabbed his wrist with her free hand, and held it back. He looked at her, really looked at her, like he was trying to make her understand why he didn't deserve her kindness or her healing, but she held his gaze with a gentle, tender look, one that Percy hadn’t seen from anyone in years.

Percy gave in. He closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the spell across his face and the pain from his nose subside. Vex held her hand there after the spell was complete, and Percy tilted his head into her hand. He heard Vex gasp, and felt her gently skim her thumb over his cheek.

“Percy? You’re crying,” she said gently.

Percy felt another tear fall down his cheek. “I guess I am,” he said simply.

Vex moved closer, rested her forehead against his.

“I’m sorry,” she said. Percy watched tears fall onto her cheeks.

“He’s gone because of me, Vex,” Percy whispered.

Vex moved back, lifted Percy’s face up and looked him in the eyes. “No, he’s not. And we’re going to get him back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to the lovely [vaxildanderolo](http://vaxildanderolo.tumblr.com/) for her help with this chapter, and for being an amazing beta <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I feel like I’m missing something here,” Vex said.  
> “I always feel like I’m missing something,” Grog said cheerfully.  
> “I never miss anything,” Tiberius said.  
> “Yeah, you don’t! You certainly didn’t miss that old woman’s back,” Scanlan said dryly.

Vex’ahlia woke in a general state of confusion, as well as a headache. Trinket was awake, patiently waiting for her to get up, as she had apparently leaned against his side and used him as a pillow for the night. Which was especially confusing, because the last thing she recalled was being in Percy’s workshop.

Percy’s coat - a bright sapphire, delicately lined with a reasonable amount of gold thread - was draped across her shoulders like a makeshift blanket. She remembered holding him while he cried, and him holding her while she cried. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and she must have fallen asleep, meaning Percy must have carried her out to Trinket. Percy was strong, no doubt hammering at his forge would have given him some upper body strength, but she still wondered how he had managed to carry her up a flight of stairs and into Trinket’s room. Despite herself, she had an image of wobbly knees, and a distinctly out-of-breath Percy laying her by Trinket, and let out a small laugh.

Then she remembered Vax was gone, and the laugh died on her tongue.

There was no use moping about it now, she thought, pursing her lips. She needed to focus on a way to get to Whitestone, to get help from her friends - everyone was heading to Whitestone at some point for Percy, but now they’d need to get there with a bit more haste.

Vex stood up, wincing at stiff joints and limbs that were taking longer to wake up. She stretched, picked up Percy’s jacket, and made her way upstairs. She stopped at a bathroom to freshen up and realised her hair had come completely out of its braid.

Unbraided, her hair almost reached her waist; it tumbled down in messy waves made permanent by the constant braid she left it in.

Vex felt something unpleasant start to brew in the pit of her stomach. Every morning, the twins would wake up within a couple of minutes of each other; Vex would brush out Vax’s long, straight hair and Vax would braid her hair when she was done.

She ran a hand through her curls, feeling lost and empty for the second time in twenty four hours.

Leave it, she thought miserably. It’s not important. 

Everyone had already gathered in the kitchen except for Percy; Vex trudged to a chair and left his coat on it before sitting down. Scanlan took a swig of what was probably coffee, face blank, but Keyleth, Pike, Tiberius and Grog had a look on their faces like she’d interrupted him mid-talk.

“Vex! You’re awake!” Keyleth clapped her hands together, her voice a tiny bit  _ too _ high. “I’ll go check on Percy, maybe,” she jumped up and hurried downstairs.

“Would you like some tea? Or coffee?” Pike offered.

“Ale?” Grog said.

“Water?” Tiberius added.

Scanlan, who was decidedly  _ not _ paying attention, put his face in his hands. “Could you be any more obvious,” he hissed.

“Shh,” Tiberius hissed back. “She doesn’t know!”

“Know about what?” Vex said dryly.

Scanlan rolled his eyes.

“I think we should wait till Percy comes,” Pike interjected, pushing a cup towards Vex. The mug was warm and the contents looked like something that would help her wake up.

Leina bustled into the kitchen, a two plates of food in her hands. She saw Leina take a double take, before smiling. “Vex, sweetheart, you’re awake! Here, I brought you some food,” and she set down a plate heaped with eggs and bacon and mushrooms and delicious looking breakfast things. 

Vex smoothed down a stray curl. Of course, with her hair out she must have looked exactly like Vax. “Thank you, Leina,” she managed, picking up a small piece of egg with her fork. It tasted like ashes in her mouth.

Leina set the second plate down and squeezed Vex’s shoulders for a moment. “You’ll get him back, darling,” she whispered, and she made her way back to the kitchen.

Vex felt like every eye in the room had been trained on her. She looked up - Scanlan was staring at a cup, Pike hastily stuck a forkful of something into her mouth, Tiberius grabbed a nearby book and stuck his nose into it, and Grog attempted to do the same.

“Tiberius,” Vex said, feeling a small smile play on her lips. “Your book is upside down,”

“Oh! Oh, well, it’s a book that's, um,  _ written _ upside down!” Tiberius started turning the book around in different directions, squinting at the contents. 

Grog let out a chuckle. “You hold it like  _ this _ , Tiberius!” He held the book firmly in front of his nose, obviously proud that he hadn’t held it upside down first.

There were footsteps coming from the stairs and the sound of Keyleth, chattering away; “And then, you wouldn’t believe it Percy but this old woman turned around and tried to attack us too! Lilith’s sisters were horrible an apparently hired a bunch of thugs to get her back-”

Percy looked like he hadn't slept much, but was listening to Keyleth’s story with interest.

“-we fought them all off, Lilith was so cool! But we killed the Broker - that was the main guy -” she followed Percy who picked up his jacket, pulled it on, and Vex found herself listening, too. “-Grog ripped a giant hole in his chest, and then Lilith reanimated his corpse and told him to go back to her sisters, and tell them she would never go back there! The other guy we convinced to go to the Slayer’s Take,”

“What about the old woman?” Percy asked, sitting down.

Keyleth faltered a little. “Um, well, she-”

“I killed her,” Tiberius chimed in.

“ _ Eviscerated _ her, more like!” Pike said.

“She was attacking us,” Tiberius began.

“Scanlan put her to sleep! And she was running away!” Keyleth threw up her hands.

“Did you really kill an old woman?” Percy sounded mildly surprised. Vex had no idea how he managed to act like himself, to hold conversations and ask questions when she knew for a fact he was breaking on the inside. She certainly couldn’t. 

Part of her wondered if the acting grew easier over time.

“He did,” Scanlan said. “And I don’t think Uriel is happy with us, either.”

That caught both their attention. Vex looked up, shock on both her and Percy’s faces.

“We’ve been summoned to his castle for a….a meeting?” Keyleth made a face.

“Hopefully just a meeting,” Scanlan said darkly.

“Oh, no,” Percy whispered. “It's because of the Briarwoods, isn’t is? We attacked guests of the castle, with almost no perceivable reason to do so,” and he put his face in his hands.

“No, Percy! Don’t say that! He trusts us, he’ll listen to us,” Keyleth said, but even she sounded doubtful.

“And he’s probably more interested in why Tiberius gutted an old lady like a fish,” Scanlan added, earning two incredulous shouts of, “Scanlan!”

“What time do we need to be there?” Vex asked.

“I’d say soon,” Pike said. Vex couldn't help but notice that her face had turned mysteriously dark and brooding. “We’ll go after you guys finish breakfast. Percy? Vex?” She said suddenly. “Do you trust me?”

Vex and Percy shared a look.

“Yes,” Percy said.

“Without a doubt,” Vex said.

Pike gave them a look. “Ok,” she said, after a moment. “I need you both to trust me on this. Can you put your weapons into the bag of holding?”

Vex blinked, confused. A strange question, but it was  _ Pike _ and she trusted Pike. “Ok,” she said, holding out her bow. Grog picked it up gently, and placed it in the bag.

Percy was not so easily swayed. “May I ask, why?” 

Pike hesitated, fiddling with the hem of her sleeve. “Percy, I can promise you that they’ll be safe, and I  _ will _ tell you once we get back, but until then I really need you to trust me.”

“We all did it, too,” Keyleth chimed in, looking nervously from Percy to Pike.

“I guess,” Percy said, after a moment. He held out Pepperbox and Bad News, which Grog picked up  _ very _ gently, and placed them in the bag of holding, too.

“Ok,” Pike seemed a little more at ease. “Ok!” She caught Scanlan’s eye, and he gave her a reassuring nod.

“I feel like I’m missing something here,” Vex said.

“I always feel like I’m missing something,” Grog said cheerfully. 

“I never miss anything,” Tiberius said.

“Yeah, you don’t! You certainly didn’t miss that old woman’s back,” Scanlan said dryly.

Keyleth put her face in her hands, Pike rolled her eyes, and Grog giggled.

“It’s funny, cause he didn't,” Grog said.

Everyone stared at him.

“I think, maybe, we should leave,” Keyleth said pointedly.

“You two barely ate anything,” Scanlan said, pointing at their plates. Vex had taken maybe two bites, and Percy’s plate hadn’t been touched at all.

“I’m not feeling very hungry,” Vex said, and Percy nodded in agreement.

“I’ll have it then,” and Grog started shovelling food into his mouth.

“Wait, Pike,” Vex said suddenly. “You wanted me to put my weapons in the bag, right?”

“Yes, which you did,” Pike said, looking a little confused.

“Did you want me to put Trinket in there, too, or..?”

Pike stared at her for a moment, before realising it was a joke, and let out a small snort.

“Ooh, that’s a good idea, Vex!” Scanlan said. “He’ll be useful in there, cause he won’t be out here, dying!”

No one laughed.

“Anyone? Anyone? No?” Scanlan asked.

Keyleth walked over and smacked the back of Scanlan’s head. “Let’s just get going,” she muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't think up a chapter title for this and that's partially why I left it for so long whoops  
> To add insult to injury I still don't have a title for it!


	4. Goliaths aren't meant to fly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bandit holding Keyleth tightened his grip. “Hold it right there, gnome,”  
> “I am just a small gnome with small legs,” Scanlan said, straight-faced. “What could I possibly do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a longer chapter to (hopefully) make up for the fact that I haven't updated this in over a month :'D

The Palace loomed above them, a stone silhouette against a deep blue sky, sun beaming from behind one of the towers. Vex found herself pulling her cloak around her, the sunlight not having touched the path to the entrance yet. The guards at the entrance seemed to do a double-take when they arrived, transforming from jovial to uneasy. One of them gripped the hilt of his sword.

Pike stepped forward. “We are here to see His Highness.”

“That you are, Vox Machina,” one of the guards said coldly. “Please leave your weapons at the door.”

All they had left were spare daggers or short swords, and the guards looked at their suspicious lack of weapons with a frown.

“I know for a fact that you all are armed to the teeth,” one of them said.

“We are visiting the palace of Sovereign Uriel Tal’Dorei the third, in the middle of Cloudtop District, one of the most heavily guarded places in Emon,” Scanlan said. “Why would we need to be armed?”

The guards shared a look before pushing the grand wooden doors open.

Vex felt them staring, even after they had entered the passage to the Throne Room.

“What was that about?” Keyleth looked back at the doors, now closed.

“No clue,” Scanlan murmured. Vex felt something unpleasant in the pit of her stomach.

The Throne Room never failed to take her breath away, even if her skin was crawling. Morning light filtered into the glass dome, illuminating the members of the Council, Sovereign Uriel Tal’dorei sitting atop his throne, and the thirty or so armoured guards that filtered in behind them.

Everyone froze.

“Well, this is going to be interesting,” she heard Percy mutter.

They let Scanlan do the talking, something which he was quite adept at; their bard had a silver tongue, one he’d sharpened on Tiberius.

Scanlan described their battle with the Briarwoods as plainly as he could, as if he feared their words may be misconstrued. He described the group’s reticence at their entire plan, their horror when the Briarwoods grabbed Vex’lidan - “By the hair, my lord!” Scanlan’s voice had taken on a hushed tone. “In doing so, they bared his neck, and to our horror, we saw…. Your Highness, I fear my words may be taken in jest, or perhaps you may think I am lying, even under Arbitor Brom’s circle; however, know that I speak true when I say that Lord Briarwood is a vampire, and he feasted on Vax’lidan’s blood that night.”

A shocked gasp ran through the hall. Uriel’s brow furrowed.

“These are serious allegations, Scanlan,” the King muttered. “Do you have proof?”

“Our words must be proof enough, as we cannot lie under this oath,” Scanlan replied. “Vex’ahlia watched her brother being dragged away, a bite mark on the side of his neck. She would not lie about that.”

“Is it true, then?” Uriel turned his gaze on her.

Vex nodded. It was all she could muster.

Uriel pursed his lips. “And what made you all decide to pursue the Briarwoods that night? I knew you all expressed interest in them, you especially, Percival,” he nodded in Percy’s direction. “You all asked them some strange questions at the dinner. But what was your reasoning behind this?”

Scanlan hesitated, just long enough to imply that their reasoning carried weight. Uriel sat forward in his throne. “Well?”

“Percy,” Scanlan said, turning to their gunslinger. “May I?”

Percy was looking much paler than usual. He nodded.

Scanlan turned back to Uriel. “We have reason to believe, Your Highness,” Scanlan said slowly. “That the de Rolo family did not die of a plague. Rather, they were murdered, and Whitestone wrenched from their still warm hands. We believe that the Briarwoods staged a coup, and murdered Percy’s family.”

Uriel had gone a little pale. “Allegations like that require proof, Scanlan Shorthalt.”

“The Briarwoods had captured me, after the coup,” Percy said slowly. Keyleth took a small step towards him, and Vex saw her lace her fingers with his. “Would the scars they left on me be proof enough, Your Highness? Or my word, under truth spell?”

“I do not doubt the pain they have inflicted upon you, Percival,” Uriel said quickly. “I- perhaps, and I know this would be difficult for you, but if you would like to stay behind and tell us your story?”

For some reason, Pike and Keyleth  _ frowned _ .

“Yes,” Percy said, in that usual, flustered tone he took on. “Alright. I shall.”

Uriel sat back and steepled his fingers. Vex saw the creases in his forehead deepen, and in that moment he looked much older than she was used to. 

“Either way, Vox Machina,” he said finally. “I understand you had your reasons for doubting the Briarwoods, and this will be thoroughly investigated, however my concern stems from…. _ deeper _ issues.”

Vex frowned. She glanced quickly around - Percy, Tiberius and Grog looked confused, Scanlan’s face was blank, but she could see a spark of surprise in his eyes, and Pike and Keyleth’s faces only darkened.

“I have heard news about Vox Machina that has, for want of a better word, disturbed me,” Uriel said slowly. “The eight of you represent Emon, and you are ambassadors of this city wherever you may travel. We have sung your praises - praises that were well deserved, and I do not, for one moment, regret any of it. However, word has reached my ear through Seeker Asum,” he gestured to his right, where the Halfling stood. Vex remembered the previous night, where Sylas stared Seeker Asum down, and began acting strangely. 

Vex, despite herself, let out the smallest, “Oh, no.”

Uriel did not seem to hear her, and continued. “He says that last night, after attacking and injuring the Briarwoods, you also attacked their carriage driver, and hauled him off to your Keep, but not before maiming him.”

Vex froze, closed her eyes, and Percy looked down at the floor. After Percy shot the carriage wheel off, Keyleth created her sleet storm, and Vex had fired an exploding arrow, Percy and her had dragged the boy out. Grief had taken her by then, and she stood by as Percy blew his fingers off, encouraged him to talk lest Percy blow off his other hand.

“My Lord, if I may,” Scanlan interjected quickly. “Percival had just seen his family’s murderers, and Vex’ahlia had just watched said murderers injure and kidnap her brother. I am not excusing what they did, but they were not in their right frames of mind when it occurred.”

“That I could set aside, Scanlan, but can I set aside the murder that occurred later that evening? We found the body of an elderly woman, and Arbitor Brom himself divined that she was murdered, and by none other than Tiberius? As well as this-”

“My Lord-” Scanlan began.

Uriel held up a hand, the universal sign for  _ silence _ . “As well as this,” he repeated, more forcefully. “Seeker Asum has informed me that you broke Vasselheim law, and that both Keyleth and Tiberius were arrested.”

Keyleth, Tiberius and Scanlan began to talk, and Uriel silenced them again. “Vox Machina, I have trusted you time and time again. Right now, I am finding that my trust is beginning to waver.” Uriel lowered his hand.

“My Lord,” Scanlan said. “If you know of the incident in Vasshelheim, then you would also know that we took the necessary steps to rectify our mistakes, and that Huntmaster Vanessa Cyndrial herself made us members of the Slayer’s Take. And Keyleth and Tiberius were imprisoned over a misunderstanding over a bet, that is all.”

“If I may,” Keyleth said quickly. Scanlan gave her a warning look, and Keyleth gave him a slight nod. “Your Highness, with the events that transpired last night, with the Briarwoods. Myself, Scanlan, Tiberius and Pike,” She put emphasis on Pike’s name, and really using Pike’s name was a guarantee that she was speaking the truth. “We all saw Seeker Asum leap down to the Briarwoods, to get them away from Vax’s body, yes?” She looked directly at Asum, who nodded. “We also saw Sylas Briarwood cast some sort of charm over him, and his mind seemed to be controlled by them.”

Uriel gave her a cold look. “I said this about the Briarwoods, and I shall say it again. Asum is a close friend of mine, and trusted advisor, and you would do well to provide evidence to back up such claims.”

Keyleth almost seemed to shrink under his gaze. “Your Highness,” she said. “A simple Greater Restoration spell would dispel any effects of their undue influence. It is a very simple spell, and it won’t cause any harm.”

“Please, Your Highness,” Pike said, at the distrust on Uriel’s face. “It won’t hurt to know.”

Uriel pursed his lips, looking from Asum to them. “Alright,” he said, sounding doubtful. “Asum, I’m sorry to have to subject you to this.”

“It’s alright, Your Grace,” Asum gave him a slight nod, and stepped forward. “Keyleth, if you may.”

Keyleth closed her eyes and splayed her palms, and Vex could not help but notice that the guards closest to Keyleth had started to draw their weapons at the sight of her casting a spell. It was something Grog noticed as well, and he growled in their direction. “Back off.”

Their druid took no notice, or if she did, she didn’t react. The spell took the better part of ten minutes, the slightest of frowns on Keyleth’s face. The hum of magic filled the air, golden light lazily drifting around Asum’s form, and when she finished she saw Asum’s eyes widen. The gasp he let out was inaudible but Keyleth heard it and her eyes flew open. Vex watched Asum murmur something to Keyleth -  _ trust me _ , he said. And he turned to face Uriel.

“Well?” Uriel said.

“I feel no different, Your Grace,” Asum said smoothly. “I can understand where her misconception stemmed from, however I’m afraid to say that Keyleth was wrong.”

The look of betrayal on Keyleth’s face was enough.

“Vox Machina,” Uriel sighed. “Your reputation has been severely tarnished by the events of the past few weeks, and I must act accordingly.”

He took a moment to survey their faces. “If you have nothing more to add, then it pains me to say that I must strip you of your position as members of my court.”

Stunned silence filled the room.

“The matter with the Briarwoods will be thoroughly investigated, and judgement will be passed when all the facts have been brought into light.”

“Now what?” Scanlan said bluntly. “Do you throw us all in jail?”

“No,” Uriel said patiently. “I suggest you attempt to fix your reputation.”

“Are we allowed to move about? To travel?” Pike asked.

“You may come and go as you please, but be warned. If you attempt to flee the city, then your guilt will be apparent, and I will have no choice but to impose bounties on your group.” Uriel paused. “You all have committed a rather grievous crime, and had anyone else done the same, I would have them in chains.”

“So instead we get a slap on the wrist,” Scanlan sounded like he was fuming. “I see.”

“What will you do now, Vox Machina?” Uriel said. 

“It’s simple,” Vex said. “We are going to rescue my brother.”

“Perhaps you misunderstood-”

“Your Grace, I understood your words plain and simple. We are not  _ fleeing _ , we are retrieving my brother.”

“Vex’ahlia,” Uriel had the air of a patient teacher trying to explain something to a dense student, and it infuriated her. “You attack honoured guests of my castle. You force them to flee. And now you wish to give chase? Granted, they should not have taken Vax’lidan as they should, but we will get him back through the proper channels.”

“And what, pray, are these,  _ proper channels _ ?” Vex let the last two words take on a mocking note.

“We will send messengers to the Briarwoods the moment this session is over,” Uriel said.

“Seeker Asum told us that he was getting almost no word out of Whitestone,” Vex said. Asum tried to catch her eye, looking slightly horrified, and she pointedly ignored him. “That his messengers would disappear, or resign immediately after.”

There was a furrow in Uriel’s brow. “Yes, that is true,” he said.

“So what is to say that the same fate does not meet the messenger you send them now?”

“Vex’ahlia, it is fine, we will work this out-”

“How about this, instead,” she said. “Vox Machina will go and rescue my brother. If we die, well, that's less work for you. If we live, we will return, and you can do whatever you wish to us.”

“If you so blatantly attempt to disobey me, I will have no choice but to have you imprisoned.”

“Meaning no disrespect,” Vex began. “You can throw me in jail, but it will not stop me. I will rip my way out of this palace, piece by piece by piece if I have to, but I  _ will _ go to Whitestone to retrieve my brother, and nothing will stand in my way.’

“Are you threatening me?” Uriel said, very slowly.

“Not at all,” Vex said smoothly. “I am only telling you that I will be going to Whitestone to find my brother.”

Uriel stared at her for a moment.

“Arrest her,” he said.

Things moved  _ very _ quickly, all of a sudden. Two guards made a beeline towards her, and two to Percy, to her surprise. She heard Grog pull something out with a  _ whoosh _ just as she heard Tiberius mutter a spell, and with a deafening screech she watched as part of the glass wall to their left crumbled away. Guards ducked and dove away from falling pieces of glass and Keyleth’s form shimmered and arched, wings erupting where her arms should have been, feathers pouring out of her body. She let out a loud, defiant screech, scooping up both gnomes. Tiberius yanked Percy backwards and they both jumped on the flying carpet with Trinket, who clambered on. Tiberius threw another spell at Grog, who wrapped an arm around her waist and picked her up like she was Pike.

“Hold on,” he grinned, and began to fly.

“Follow Keyleth!” She heard Pike say, as they all took off through the hole, and out into the blue skies over Emon.

Keyleth swooped up, higher and higher, towards the clouds. Tiberius followed, guiding the carpet up while Percy and Trinket looked completely bewildered. 

Vex realised that the only thing stopping her from plummeting back to the ground, which was getting smaller and smaller with each passing moment, was a six hundred pound goliath. She wrapped both arms around his neck and let out a sound somewhere between a yell and a wail.

“Arrows!” She heard Scanlan yell, and made the mistake of looking down. A sea of arrows was steadily flying towards them, and Vex had an image of them hitting Grog and her.

“Percy, take over!” Tiberius shoved the reins at Percy, who snapped out of his confusion and started steering the carpet; both Grog and Keyleth flew in front of him, single file.

Tiberius took a deep breath, arcane energy gathering in his palms. He unleashed it as a wave of fire, sweeping his palms out of in front of him. Most of the arrows burnt up from the flames, ashes dissipating in the skies. The few arrows that survived managed to bounce of pieces of armour, or Keyleth swerved out of the way of them.

She watched as they flew even higher, up into the clouds themselves; the blue skies disappeared as everything became white around them. Vex held out a hand and watched it trail through a part of the cloud, and laughed. 

“Vex,” Scanlan had to yell, otherwise his voice would have been lost in the wind. “Can you cast Pass Without A Trace on us?”

Vex raised her hand as she muttered the incantation. Arcane energy flared in her palm and she felt it, a fleeting moment of invisibility and nothingness, envelop her and  everyone around.

They began to make a descent long before Tiberius’s flight spell started to wear off; even so, Emon was growing smaller and smaller in the distance. They landed in the forests, Grog gently landing on both feet before putting Vex down. The carpet hovered about a foot off the ground while its inhabitants hopped off, and Keyleth gently deposited the gnomes before her form shuddered and shifted back to her own.

Vex ran a hand through her now tangled hair. “I’m sorry, what just happened?”

“Did we just blast a hole in Uriel’s castle and  _ fly away _ ,” Percy had an utterly bewildered look on his face.

“That’s exactly what we did,” Tiberius said. 

“I think we should start moving,” Pike said. “We have a long way till Whitestone,”

“Wait, how are we even going to  _ find _ Whitestone? We don't have a map!” Percy said.

“Grog packed one,” Keyleth said cheerfully, patting down Percy’s windswept hair.

Percy gave her an incredulous look. “Did he also pack at least a week’s worth of food to get us there?”

“Yeah, I did!” Grog said.

Percy stared at him, before turning his attention to Pike. “What exactly is happening here?”

“I really think we should get going first,” Pike seemed more fidgety than usual, and Vex couldn’t blame her, having the distinct feeling of being watched. “I don't want anyone from Emon finding us while we’re mid conversation, you know?”

“Could we at least get our weapons?” Vex asked.

Grog started pulling them out, one by one; Keyleth’s staff, Pike’s shield and mace, his own war axe, Vex’s bow, and Percy’s guns. He even pulled out spare daggers, one of which Keyleth snagged, twirling it around her fingers until she accidentally sent it flying near a set of bushes, and she went to retrieve it.

Vex felt infinitely more secure with her bow on her back, and watched as Grog pulled out a scroll, which he unrolled and handed to Percy.

“We would be about  _ here _ ,” Tiberius pointed at the map.

“Whitestone is to the North,” Percy said. “I’d suggest we go this way,” 

“Not this way?”

“That’s the main route to Whitestone. If we go  _ this _ way, we may get the element of surprise.”

“The element of surprise, eh?” An unfamiliar voice drawled from the bushes behind them. Keyleth’s eyes went wide as an arm came out of nowhere, grabbing her wrist.

Vex already had an arrow notched, Grog’s war axe was at the ready, and Percy was aiming at the figure now holding a knife to their druid’s throats. Another three figures came out of the shadows, brandishing weapons and wearing armour that looked like it had been scavenged off corpses.

“Drop your weapons or your pretty friend dies,” the bandit grinned.

“But we just got them back,” Scanlan said.

“Drop them!” Keyleth let out a strangled sound as the blade started cutting skin. Vex dropped her bow, and heard the  _ clang _ of everyone’s weapons hitting the ground.

“Now, aren’t you all wearing some fancy armour? I bet that’s worth a pretty penny,” the bandit continued. “And did I just hear you say something about pissing off the  _ King _ ? Boys, can you  _ imagine _ the bounties that must be on their heads?”

“What makes you think we’d have bounties? We didn’t piss off the king, we’re doing something he asked us to do,” Scanlan said.

“We heard that one-” one of the bandits pointed at Percy. “-say that you blasted a wall in his castle.”

“Uriel’s planning renovations,” Scanlan shrugged, stepping forward.

The bandit holding Keyleth tightened his grip. “Hold it right there,  _ gnome _ ,”

“I am just a small gnome with small legs,” Scanlan said, straight-faced. “What could I possibly do.”

“That’s true, boss,” one of the bandits said. “Gnome’s are pretty useless. They don’t do much.”

“‘Useless’?” Scanlan looked offended. “I’ll have you know that my gnome wife Pike-” everyone rolled their eyes. “-is an angel sent down from the heavens.”

“Aw, Scanlan,” Pike put a hand on his shoulder.

“And I can do things, too!” he continued.

The lead bandit looked like he was about to laugh. “Like?”

“Like this,” Scanlan grinned, taking a deep breath. Vex felt a sudden flood of arcane energy as Scanlan looked at the bandit and yelled, “Hey! You’re a big fat meanie and your mother doesn't love you anymore!”

The bandit froze for a moment before dropping his knife, and Vex watched an actual tear drip down his cheek. Keyleth stuck an elbow into his gut and ran to stand beside Grog, who was starting to fume.

“You messed with the  _ wrong _ gang,” Scanlan said, as Grog began to rage.

Grog ripped a bandit apart with his bare hands and Vex almost felt sorry for him. She pumped another bandit full of arrows just as Keyleth electrocuted him, and Tiberius set a third on fire. The fourth one tried to hit Percy with a sword; Percy delicately sidestepped his blade before aiming Pepperbox at his head.

“Your soul is now forfeit,” he said loftily, pulling the trigger. It was such a Percy-eqsue statement that Vex almost ignored it,  _ almost _ ; but there was something….off, about the way he said it. Vex watched as the bullet flew out of the gun with a deafening  _ bang _ , smoke billowing from the barrel, and for a moment she thought that smoke was starting to leak out from the inside of Percy’s sleeve. She turned, looking to see if anyone else had seen this, and found Keyleth’s equally confused eyes. The bullet continued to travel through the air, and bandit’s head exploded.

Scanlan surveyed the corpses arounds them. “I can’t believe we were almost beaten by a couple of  _ bandits _ ,”

“Yeah, how did they take us by surprise like that?” Grog said, while Pike wiped blood off him.

“Because Vax is usually the one checking ahead,” Vex said softly. “I- I’m sorry, I should have been paying better attention-”

“No, you can’t blame yourself for that!” Pike walked forward and gave her a hug.

“Besides, we killed them all!” Grog said cheerfully. 

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Percy lower his gun, and Keyleth took a step closer still looking bewildered.

“Keyleth, are you alright?” Percy asked.

“Yeah,” Keyleth said slowly. “But are you?”


End file.
